Ever have a shoot get so frustrating you wanted to strangle someone?

If you haven’t had any clunker models or sessions gone wrong in the past year you aren’t shooting enough. Who have you shot that went the worst? Maybe it was a friend or a family member who froze up like a Christmas rat when they saw their beady eyes reflected in your 85mm 1.2. Maybe it was a TFCD (trade for image) shoot with someone you met online who you just didn’t click with. Maybe it was a paying client with a diva attitude and the charisma of a dirty sock. Doesn’t matter. I’m asking you, to ask yourself, to ask that model, to pose for you again.

Hello? Anyone still there?

Good. After they confirm, but before the day of the shoot, try, I know it can be hard, but try to look at the images from the first shoot. You didn’t delete them, right?

Look at those stinkers. Try to keep the bile from creeping up your throat. Just what went wrong here? Was it technical issues? The lighting? Maybe. Write it all down. Write every last drop of wrong. Make a list.

Now think about what went right. I know, it may seem like nothing worked. But there is always something, a subtle smile in one image, the dreamy quality created by the way her eyes floated in different directions like a chameleon tracking a fly. Anything. Find your weaknesses. Find the model’s strengths.

Now start planning out the shoot with that information as your guide. Fix or minimize your weaknesses and create an idea that builds on the model’s strengths. The point of the exercise here is to do some creative problem solving while your brain isn’t in the middle of the problem.

Did the model talk too much in the first shoot, and no matter how hard you tried you only got open mouth pictures? This time take a picture of the model blowing a bubble with chewing gum or gagged and hogtied. It doesn’t matter. Figure out what went wrong, and now that you have the luxury of time, think up a solution.

When your model arrives keep a positive attitude and jump into the shoot. There’s a chance new problems will rear up like a rattle snake at a square dance, but you’ll be better prepared than last time. Go slow. No matter what the shoot was for the last time, this time it’s for you. If a problem comes up, if the images aren’t working, stop and figure out why. Try using some of the techniques from the article Shooting Blanks. If you can’t figure it out, just keep trying new ideas. With any luck you’ll get some great images and maybe even a model you would have otherwise written off.

What’s your favorite worst shoot horror story? Tell us in the comments below.

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